THE SON OF MAN WILL GATHER HIS ELECT

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Daniel 12:1-3 

As the liturgical year approaches its end, we are called to reflect on the end of times, because there will be an end to the world. It is interesting that even science speaks of the end of the world and presents different scenarios of how it will happen. Some Christians make this the centre of their spirituality and live in the expectancy of the end of the world in their life time. Some false prophets even announce the year when it will happen, forgetting Jesus’ warning, when he told his disciples: “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mk 13:32).

According to the book Daniel and according to Jesus’ words, the end of times will be a time of anguish and great distress, a time of tribulation and suffering. That time will be dominated by the coming of the Son of Man, and he will come “with great power and glory” (Mk 13:26). Nobody will miss his coming. According to Daniel, that will be the time for the resurrection, when “those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Dan 12:2). It will be a time for judgement, when people will be divided in two groups, the ones who enjoy eternal life and the ones who suffer eternal contempt.

In Mark, Jesus tells us that the Son of Man will send his angels to “gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (Mk 13:27).

There are some Christians who let their imagination go wild and believe strange things about the end of the world. However, what the Holy Scriptures teach can be presented in a few and straightforward statements:

• The world will come to an end, but only the Father knows when;
• There will be a time of tribulation, and then our faith will be tested;
• Christ will come in his glory as the King of kings. It will be his second coming;
• The dead will wake up. It will be the time of the resurrection;
• It will be a time of judgement;
• The elect will share in the glory of Christ. 

Jesus uses his words about the end of times to present us with a call for alertness and readiness. We do not know the time and the hour when we will be called, and so we must be always ready, that is we must always walk in the company of Jesus, allowing him to guide us by the hand. We cannot presume that we are already saved, because until the last moment  we run the risk of falling aside and of turning our backs on Jesus. That’s why we must pray daily, asking the Lord to keep us faithful to the end.